by Phoebe Conn
Raven pursed his lips thoughtfully as he wondered just how far the doctor and Michael had gone in their efforts to convince Nathan to recuperate on Jamaica. “Other than serving in the Confederate navy, I’ve no idea how much experience either of you has at sea, but you must realize that forcing a captain to leave his ship against his will is an act of mutiny.”
Michael’s eyes widened and he had to swallow hard before he could reply but clearly he spoke with conviction. “When the choice appears to be forcing him off today, or burying him at sea next week, isn’t demanding he leave the better alternative?”
Eden was leaning against Raven now, but her weight was a slight burden. He knew without asking what her choice would be. “What do you have here, two dozen officers and about a hundred in the crew?”
“Minus those that will be left here, we’ll have twenty officers, and ninety-one in the crew.”
“How many of those men are willing to leave Nathan here?” Raven asked bluntly.
Michael glanced away for a moment, then again summoned his courage to respond. “All would vote to leave the captain here if you will agree to take his place.”
That remark was greeted by a stunned silence.
“You can not possibly be serious,” Eden gasped when she finally realized what Michael had said, but seeing by the solemnity of his expression that he most certainly was, she insisted he consider the obvious. “My husband is a British citizen. How can you possibly ask him to fight in a War that does not concern him?”
While Raven was as startled as Eden by the absurdity of Michael’s request, he found it strangely exhilarating. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask the questions,” he whispered as he gave her a loving hug. “What’s the real reason you came here tonight, Lieutenant, to request aid for your wounded, or to involve me in the most bizarre proposal of mutiny I’ve ever heard?”
Michael could not back down now and straightened his shoulders proudly. “The Southern Knight has the finest crew afloat, but without Captain Sinclair, well, I think we would have been better off to surrender in Havana than try to continue our mission. At least there none of the men were in danger of drowning as they would be if we’re attacked at sea.”
Raven started to laugh. “If you’re trying to make me feel responsible for the lives of the men on board the Southern Knight, it won’t work. My father-in-law is the only one who concerns me. Now is he up to seeing us?”
Dr. Endecott gestured toward the captain’s quarters. “I’ll take you to his cabin. Talk with him, and then give us your decision.”
Eden looked up at her husband. He did not seem particularly concerned, but she was certain his decision was already made. He was opposed to the War. How could he take her father’s place and fight in it? She had felt sick to her stomach ever since she had learned of her father’s injury, and she hoped she would not become ill in front of him. When they reached his cabin, he was stretched out on his bunk, but there were navigational charts lying on the table and she wondered if he hadn’t lain down at the precise instant they had knocked on his door.
Nathan not only felt weak, but was also badly embarrassed to have his daughter and her husband see him in such a pitiful state. He tried to smile, but failed. “Michael told me you’re taking the wounded. I’ll find a way to repay you for their care.”
Eden would have liked to sit down by his side, but fearing she would cause him pain, she leaned down to kiss his cheek, and then remained standing. “We don’t expect to be paid,” she assured him, but not before sending a questioning glance Raven’s way.
Raven, however, had more important things to discuss. “For a Union ship to attack you in Havana’s harbor is deplorable. For you to disregard your surgeon’s advice and not take care of yourself is even worse. Are none of your lieutenants capable of performing your duties until you’re well enough to resume command?”
“I’ve not relinquished my command,” Nathan insisted stubbornly.
“A minor point. Just answer my question.”
“Well, my lord, Lieutenant Devane is the executive officer and I fear he would have difficulty commanding a rowboat, let alone the Southern Knight. She’d be sunk or on display in Boston Harbor in less than a week if he attempted to take my place. I’ll not do that to my men. Don’t get me wrong, Devane is sincere and hardworking, but like the rest of my officers, he just doesn’t have the experience to command.”
“Would you be willing to recuperate at my home if someone could be found who did?”
Nathan was baffled by that question. “I’ve already told you, we don’t have such a man on board.”
Nathan’s face was pinched and drawn. His golden eyes had a feverish sheen, and when Raven leaned down to touch his hand, his skin felt much too warm. Clearly he was already more seriously ill than Dr. Endecott realized. “I’d hate to see you lose your leg, or worse, your life. I don’t believe in your cause, but I’m willing to sail the Southern Knight up and down the coast often enough to discourage shipping. Apparently your crew was so impressed with the way I sail they’re willing to trust me. Are you?”
That was the last offer Eden had ever expected Raven to make, and she was now shaking so badly she had to sit down at the table. “Could we talk about this?” she asked weakly. “After all you have said about the absurdity of the War, I can’t believe you want to enlist in our navy.”
Ignoring Nathan momentarily, Raven sat down beside his bride and took her hands in his. He had wanted only to save her father’s life, but he knew the first time he had made that offer he had coupled it with a demand that she remain married to him, and also keep her marriage to Alex a secret as well. Perhaps it was no wonder that she would question his motives now, but it hurt him all the same. Despite the rapport they had enjoyed since coming to the plantation, he knew neither of them trusted the other as completely as a husband and wife should. This was certainly no time to discuss the causes of their doubts, however.
“I’m not going to join the Confederate navy, Eden, I’m just offering to take your father’s place until he’s well.”
“I can’t believe you would even consider such a mad scheme, let alone agree to it.” Eden’s gaze swept his face, searching for a clue that would reveal his reason.
Raven had expected Nathan to object, and strenuously, but not Eden. “What is it you really want to know—what I expect in return?”
Eden tried to withdraw her hands from his, but he increased the pressure of his grasp to prevent her escape and she ceased to struggle. “You’ll have to admit it isn’t like you to do anything unless you’ll receive some type of gain.”
Raven glanced toward Nathan, who now appeared several shades paler than when they had entered his cabin. Eden was all the family Raven had, but he understood why she would question his efforts to save her father’s life and thought he probably deserved it. If his character actually had a noble side, he knew she had seen damn little of it. Seeking to give her a reason he knew she would readily understand, he released her hands and rose to his feet.
“You’re right. I do have an ulterior motive. For once I’d like to do something for you that Alex hasn’t done first. Let me know what you decide.”
Stung by the bitterness of that retort, Eden made no attempt to prevent Raven from leaving the cabin. As tears started to pour down her cheeks, she turned toward her father. “I’m sorry, Daddy, but what Raven really wants is to be a partner in the shipyard. I’m sure that’s why he’s willing to take your place.”
Nathan’s whole body ached, while his right leg burned with an agonizing pain that never let up. As he saw it, the only choice he had was whether he would be buried on Jamaica, or at sea. The least he could do was give his men a fighting chance to survive, and with Raven Blade, they would certainly have it.
“Ask him to come back, sweetheart. I don’t care what the bastard wants. The Southern Knight is his.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
March 1864
Julian Ryan hurriedly read
the instructions Clifton Endecott had left for him and then waved the neatly penned pages for emphasis. “I thought Raven had taken leave of his senses when he allowed your father’s ship to use his docks for repairs. Now you tell me he’s the acting captain of the Southern Knight and that I’m expected to run a Confederate hospital?”
As this was one of the few times he had paid a call at the Clairbourne plantation in the morning, Rebecca Yardley had accompanied her brother hoping for a chance to visit with Eden. While she thought Julian was being very rude, she was as astonished as he by the reason he had been summoned to the house. She had always admired Raven Blade’s dashing good looks, but going off to fight in America’s Civil War struck her as being reckless in the extreme. She stood at Julian’s side, her eyes wide as she tried to think of some way to help him control his temper when she was every bit as dismayed as he.
Eden had been up all night and was in no mood to coddle Julian’s outraged sense of propriety. “If your principles will not allow you to attend my father and his men, then there’s no point in prolonging this discussion. Yadira is talented in the preparation of medicines and we’ll simply rely on her until another physician can be found.”
“You can’t treat gunshot wounds with folk remedies!” Julian contradicted belligerently.
“It appears we have no choice,” Eden responded coolly.
Julian glanced down at his sister’s anguished expression. Clearly she was siding with Eden and thought he should treat the injured without regard to their nationality, but he was loath to agree. The deciding factor was not one of principle, however, but one based purely on self-interest. The care of seven severely injured men would require him to make more frequent visits to the plantation and the prospect of Yadira making every one memorable was irresistible.
He drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly as though his decision had been a difficult one to reach. “I don’t approve of Raven’s involvement in the War, but as a responsible physician I can’t in good conscience refuse to treat wounded men regardless of who they are or how they received their injuries. Where have your father and his men been quartered?”
While Eden thought Julian a pompous ass, she was relieved she would not have to send to Montego Bay or Kingston for another doctor. “My father is in Alex’s room. We put cots in the room next door for the others.”
“Eleanora’s room?” Julian asked in surprise.
“I saw no reason to scatter them among the guest bedrooms. It will be far easier for us to care for them if we don’t have to constantly traipse up and down the hall to do it.”
“I’ll not argue with that, my lady. I was merely surprised at your choice of room.”
“From what I’ve heard, Eleanora was too sweet a woman to object to her room being used temporarily as a hospital ward. I’d like for you to see the men now, so if you have any suggestions for their care, we can implement them immediately.”
Julian picked up his bag. “Of course, but I think I should give whatever directions I have to Yadira. It wouldn’t be wise for you to tend the men yourself, my lady. There’s too great a risk you’ll become overtired and that could easily bring on premature labor. You mustn’t take that risk.”
Eden had been far too worried about her father and his men to consider her own well-being and refused to do so now. “You know our servants are either former slaves, or their descendants. I can scarcely ask them to tend Confederate soldiers. I worked in a hospital in Richmond before going to England, so I’m experienced in caring for wounded and I can do it again. I’ll rest whenever I’m tired.”
“I could stay and help,” Rebecca volunteered, and when her brother started to object, she interrupted him. “I really want to do this. You’ve trained me as your nurse and we can’t expect Lady Clairbourne and her housekeeper to care for seven men on their own.”
Grateful for Rebecca’s offer, Eden accepted before Julian had time to forbid it. “Thank you, but I must insist both of you call me Eden rather than Lady Clairbourne.”
“If you wish,” Rebecca responded shyly while Julian merely frowned at the young woman’s disregard for tradition.
Nathan had been asleep, but awakened long enough to tell Julian he would appreciate being left alone. “Daddy, please,” Eden scolded gently. “Dr. Ryan only wants to help you get well.”
Unable to believe that was even a possibility, Nathan had to force himself to lie still as Julian examined his leg. Unlike most of the other wounded, he had been spared the agony of having a bullet dug out of his flesh, but he was certain that was the only misery he had escaped. Noting Julian’s sullen frown, he issued a stern warning.
“Don’t even consider taking a saw to my leg or I’ll take one first to your neck!”
Insulted, Julian fixed Nathan with a hostile stare. “If you follow the instructions here that you disregarded on board your ship and remain in bed, there will be no need for anyone to use a saw. You’re just not drinking enough fluids, that’s why you’re feverish.” He turned to his sister then. “Pour all the tea you can into him, and tie him to the bed to keep him in it if you must. Now let’s look at the others.”
Eden took her father’s hand and squeezed it gently as Julian and Rebecca crossed to the door that led to the adjoining room. “I wish Mother were here, but since she isn’t, will you at least try to treat us as kindly as you would her?”
The mention of his wife made Nathan feel thoroughly ashamed but he could make no promises. “If I live through this—”
“What do you mean ‘if’? You know Mother could not bear to live without you and I do so want you to be able to see your first grandchild.” Eden spoke in a light teasing tone, but she was badly frightened all the same. “I’ll bring you some herb tea with plenty of lemon and you’re going to drink the whole pot before you go back to sleep.”
“You shouldn’t be waiting on me, sweetheart.”
“Nonsense. Fetching a pot of tea won’t hurt me.” And yet by the end of the morning, Eden had lost count of how many times she had traversed the stairs. Arabella and Yadira had gotten into a lengthy debate on which herbs made the best tea to quell a fever and had never run out of advice on how it was to be dispensed, but there always seemed to be something she had forgotten downstairs that she had to search for herself. When she could no longer stay awake, she told Rebecca to call her should any man’s condition worsen and went to her room for a well-deserved rest.
While she had managed to put on a brave front for the others, once alone, Eden was overwhelmed by the enormity of the task she had undertaken. She had wanted to care for her father and his men, truly she had, but the responsibility was proving to be a far greater strain than she had ever imagined. She had planned to rely on her experience in tending wounded, but she had not once stopped to consider she had not been seven months pregnant when she had last done it.
Adding to her worries about her ability to provide adequate care was her disappointment over the brief kiss with which she and Raven had parted. He had been the one to supervise the transfer of the wounded to the house and he had also taken it upon himself to make certain the Southern Knight had plenty of provisions as well as coal. While he had not seemed to be deliberately avoiding her during the night, it certainly seemed that way now.
In the last few months she had thought they were getting along well, but in retrospect perhaps their accord had been an illusion they had created by studiously avoiding conflict. While she feared the obvious state of her pregnancy made her far from desirable, Raven had been no less affectionate, but he had yet to put his feelings into words. Not even the danger involved in the voyage he was about to undertake had prompted him to reveal the depth of his emotions before he had bid her a hurried farewell.
Then again, Eden agonized, perhaps Raven didn’t love her at all. Maybe it was vanity that made her see love in his glance when it might have been no more than desire, or need. He had certainly leapt at the chance to leave her and she knew Raven was not an impulsive man, but a c
oldly calculating one. She had had no opportunity to thank him for taking her father’s place, regardless of his motive, and that bothered her too for she did not want him to think her ungrateful. That he would be gone for a month at least, perhaps even longer, left her with a curious sense of emptiness she had not expected and feared would linger indefinitely.
“There was so much I should have told him,” she whispered as she wiped away a tear. Although Alex had died suddenly, there had been nothing left unsaid between them. She had buried him with a deep sense of loss, but she had not been burdened with the regret she now felt over the way she and Raven had parted. When he returned home, she was going to do a much better job of letting him know how much she appreciated all he had done for her. All she could do now, unfortunately, was pray that he returned safely so that she would have that opportunity
Too weary to dwell on their problems any longer, Eden fell into a troubled sleep, in which she dreamed Raven felt as lost and confused as she did.
During the first week Julian treated the injured Southerners, he cautioned Eden repeatedly about becoming overtired, but as the men slowly began to improve, she grew increasing pale and drawn. Finally he took her by the arm and escorted her to her room.
“I can’t allow you to endanger your health another minute, my lady. You are to get into your bed and stay there until I say you can get up.”
“But there’s too much to do,” Eden protested unconvincingly.
“Do you remember the night we met? I’ll never forget how desperate Raven looked when he came rushing into my room to ask me to do something to bring you out of hysterics. Perhaps the threat of giving birth prematurely doesn’t scare you as greatly as it does me, but I don’t want to have to face Raven with the news Alex’s child was born early and didn’t live.
“That there is a very good possibility that you’re already too weak to survive the ordeal of childbirth terrifies me even more. I think Raven would probably kill me if I lost the both of you. So, my lady, if you’ve no concern for yourself, the very least you can do is spare me and your precious infant early deaths.”